Blood transfusion apparatus



W. B. COOKSEY BLOOD TRANSFUSION APPARATUS IFeb. 11, 1941.

Filed oct. -z, 1939 KNQ 00 @y @Mam um, www mi JW,

Patented Feb. 11, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE BLOOD TRANSFUSION APPARATUS Warren B. Cooksey, Detroit, Mich. Application October 2, 1939, Serial No. 297,629

3 Claims. (Cl. 12S-214) This invention relates to blood transfusion apparatus. It vwill be found that the apparatus may be applied to other uses.

Blood transfusion apparatus now commonly 5 employed usually comprises a container equipped with a handle and a head provided with means for sealing the end of the container. Apparatus of this type is shown in my application Serial No. 155,133, for Blood transfusion apparatus.

An object of the present invention is to provide an extremely simple mechanism which may be employed without a special head or handle tting and which may be used in conjunction with a sealed and sterile container. A further object is to provide transfusion means which may be readily applied'to a sealed container having ow passages through a sealing plug closed by a thin resilient disk, or an air-tight plug may be used to be changed when the blood is dispensed.

2o Other specic objects and advantages will appear as the specification Proceeds.

The invention is illustrated, in preferred embodiments, by the accompanying drawing, in'

which- I Figure l is a vertical sectional view of apparatus embodying my invention applied to a sealed container, the container being broken away; and Fig. 2, a view similar to Fig. l, but showing a modified form of structure.

:io In the illustration given, A designates a container; B a closure for the neck thereof; and C the evacuating apparatus.

The container A may be of any suitable structure or type. It is usually provided with a band and bail (not shown) at the lower end thereof, so that the container can be inverted for the dispensing of blood or other fluid after it has been filled. The container is provided with threads or beads I0.

The plug B is preferably formed of a resilient material, such as rubber, having a lower rounded corner portion II and an` upper ared lip portion I2, the lip portion I2' resting upon the top of the container neck. A

4,-, The plug B is provided with a passage I3 adapted to receive a glass tube I4, the purpose of the tube being to permit air to pass toward the side cf the bottle opposite the plug when the bottle is inverted. Plug B is also provided with an ,-,0 outlet flow passage I5.

Both of the passages I3 and I5 are closed normally by a thin resilient sealing disk I6, which may be of rubber or other suitable material. Normally the seal I6 isfheld in position by the vacuum within the container. The edges of the seal I6 are further secured in place by a clamping ring I1, which extends below the bead II) and has a top horizontal flange extending over and engaging the seal I6.

The evacuating apparatus C includes a bulb 5 I8 of rubber or other suitable elastic material. The upper portion of the bulb is equipped with a iitting I9 provided with a ball 20 adapted to seat in a valve seat, thevalve seat and ball permitting air to escape from the bulb IB, but preventl0 ing the entrance of air therein. The lower end of bulb I8 is closed by a tting 2|.

The tting 2| is provided at its upper end with a ball 22 received withina valve seat 23, the valve seat and ball cooperating in a well 15 known manner to permit air to enter bulb I8, but to prevent air from escaping downwardly through the fitting 2| to escape into the container.

The fitting 2| is provided with an integral extension 24 which extends into the passage I5 of 20 plug B. A passage 25 extends all the way through the fitting 2| and the extension 24 so as to establish communication between the interior of the bottle and the interior of bulb I8. It will be noted that the lower end of the fitting ex- 25 tension 24 is tapered inwardly at 26, thus facilitating the insertion of the extension into passage In order to introduce blood or other fluid into the container in response to the vacuum therein 30 created, I provide a rigid tube 21 provided with an endA enlargement 28 adapted to receive the end of a rubber tube leading to a hollow needle (not shown) asin the usual practice. The tube 21 extends through an opening in the side wall 35 2| and then is turned downwardly e 25. The reduced lower end of `the tubegglll" extends below the end of the extension 24 and is provided with an inclined or pointed end 29. 4o

The structure shown in Fig. 2 is identical with that shown in Fig. 1, except that the tube 21a, to which the rubber tube 2lb is attached, does not extend through a central extension provided by the fitting 2Ia. Instead, it extends through an 45 openingand then downwardly below the tting ZIB. i

The 'fitting 2la is provided with a separate tube 30 which extends below the tting and is soldered to the lower extension of the'tube 21a. To facili- 50 tate the insertion of the tube 30, the lower end thereof is cut away or inclined at 3|. With this structure, there are thus two separate passages which runside by.side,one being the passage through the tube 215 and the other being the pas- 55 .Within the container.

sage 25 through the tting 2 I* and extended tube 30.

Thus the only difference between the structure shown in Fig. 1 and that shown in Fig. 2 is that the passage for the liquid in Fig. 1 extends centrally within an enlarged hollow passage for the air, while in Fig. 2 the liquid passage extends side by side with the air passage, the two tubes being united by welding, soldering, etc.

In the operation of the apparatus, a sterile container, which may be slightly under vacuum if desired, is provided. The two passages I3 and I5 are closed by the resilient seal I6, the seal I6 being also held in place by the clamping collar I1. Normally an outer cap is provided which extends about the member I'l and over the seal I6, the cap being removed when the container is to be used. Or as tubes 2Ia and 3|) may be inserted through solid rubber, no openings such as I3 and I5 need be provided, and a separate dispensing cork utilized later.

The apparatus C is now placed in position for drawing a partial vacuum within the container A. In this operation, the fitting 2| is grasped and pressed downwardly so as to force the pointed tube 29 and extension 28 through the resilient sealing member I6 and into the passage I5 as illustrated in Fig. l. In the same operation, with the structure shown in Fig. 2, the double needle is forced through the solid rubber cork B at any appropriate spot, preferably at a thin area in B, leaving openings I3 and I5 to be sealed by the rubber diaphragm. By this means, when the blood has been drawn into container A, the apparatus C may be withdrawn and container A will be automatically sealed.

The top of the plug B may be provided with an X or other markdirectly above the passage I5. Ihus when the needle is passed through this solid portion, it enters the recess or passage I5 As the bulb is pressed and released, air is expelled from the interior of the container through the passage 25 or 25, thus reducing the pressure The reduced pressure causes the blood to flow from the needle and through the tube into the fitting 21 or 2'In and thence downwardly into the container. Normally an anti-coagulant is maintained within the container, having been placed therein and sealed in a prior operation. The anti-coagulant is mixed with the blood by moving the container in a circular path as the blood flows. It will be noted thatthe walls of the bulb after compression expand slowly, thus drawing a slow vacuum and making it unnecessary for the operator to continuously operate the bulb.

With apparatus of this character, it is found that a desired low vacuum can be obtained which does not injure the blood corpuscles or stmoture and which permits the operator to maintain a nice control of the blood flow. After the blood has been withdrawn, the apparatus C may be removed.

The seal I6, which is of very elastic material,

such as pure rubber, permits the members 2t and 21 to be withdrawn without disturbing the seal, the opening caused by the piercing of the seal I6 being instantly closed by the elasticity of the material. Since there is practically no vacuum within the container at this point, there is no tendency for air to enter through the seal I6, and a sterile closure is maintained. In the case of the modification shown in Fig. 2, the needles 21B and 30 are forced through both da- -phragm IB and the solid rubber B so that a vacuum-tight seal is obtained in container A when the apparatus C is withdrawn. The container A may then, if desired, be placed in a refrigerator and stored for some time until it is desired for use.

In dispensing the blood from the container A, the container is inverted as in the usual practice, the outlet tube being inserted within the passage I5 and the tube extending to the usual transfusion needle (not shown). In view of the well known use of the apparatus for the dispensing of blood, a further detailed description is unnecessary.

It will be noted that the apparatus is extremely simple, that it may be employed with a sterilized and sealed container having therein an anticoagulant, that it permits the ready withdrawal of blood under a controlled low vacuum which does not injure the delicate blood structure, and that upon removal of the apparatusl a container is provided for storage or for ready transfusion of the blood.

While in the foregoing description I have set forth a detailed structure for the purpose of illustrating the invention, it will be understood Ithat such details may be widely modified without departing from the spirit of my invention. I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

I claim:

l. Suction apparatus adapted to be used with a container having an open neck, a resilient sealing plug in said neck, said suction apparatus consisting of a body having a. flange adapted to rest upon said resilient plug, a double needle provided with a sharp point carried by said body, said needle being adapted to be thrust through said plug, said body providing a pair of passages communicating through said double needle with the interior of said container, evacuating means communicating with one of said passages in said body, and a flow line communicating with the other of said passages in said body, said resilient plug hermetically closing the opening occupied by said needle after the same is withdrawn.

2. Suction apparatus adapted for use with a container provided with an open neck and with a resilient sealing plug in said neck, said suction apparatus comprising a fitting body having two passages extending therethrough, a double needle carried by said body, each of the passages therein communicating with the passages of said body, said needle being adapted to be thrust through said resilient plug to provide communication between said passages with the interior of the container, said fitting body providing -a connection member through which a tube may he attached for communication with one of said passages, and v evacuating means carried by said body and communicating with the other of said passages, said resilient plug hermetically closing the opening occupied by said needle after the same is withdrawn.

3. Suction apparatus for use with a container equipped with a neck closed by a resilient sealing plug, said plug having at least one opening therethrough and a resilient seal over 'said plug, said suction apparatus comprising a tting body having two passages therethrough and a double needle, the two passages of which communicate with said body passages, said needle having sharpened points permitting it to be thrust through the resilient body of said plug and said ,communicating with the other of said passages.

said resilient plug and resilient seal closing the opening formed by said double needle immediately upon its withdrawal to provide .a hermetically sealed container.

\ WARREN B. cooKsEY. 

